or: Keeping costs down and having fun in an expensive city

I live in the world’s most expensive city (according to the 2018 Mercer’s  24th annual survey based on cost of living).

I’m not working at the moment.

This has a couple of major advantages most result from having time that I would normally be in an office and /or from a desire to keep my food and entertainment costs fairly low.

I’ve been experimenting with breakfasts and have even been having weekend breakfasts during the week. It feels very decadent. I can add to this decadence by having breakfast in bed with a book though I’m best doing that only with a toast and coffee. Anything else is a bit of a risk and I figure if I’m up making something, I may as well stay up which isn’t really the mindset needed to get back into bed. That’s the mindset to get stuff done so I try to make the most of it.

Some days I go for a run first and then make breakfast. I’m definitely not getting back into bed after a run!

I’ve almost perfected an omlette and flipping it without breaking. I have made a few French toasts and am now at the stage where I have no egg mix leftover from each batch for scrambled eggs (this is quite a feat for me as this has never happened in my entire life!) with some sliced straweberries, banana and a handful of blueberries with a bit of honey drizzled over the top- bliss.

Sometimes I cook up some oats and have it with this fruit too or make Bircher muesli and add the fruit in the morning.

My poached eggs don’t require vinegar in the water, don’t break and still has the yolk a bit runny and will drip down the side of my avocado smashed on soughdough bread (I’m allowed to do this because I’m a Gen X Australian) with cherry tomoatoes. My fried eggs with baby spinach, mushrooms and grilled tomato with cheese  and some toast is also pretty good.

All, except for the French toast and porridge are garnished with a crack or two of pepper and my plunger coffee on the side, including the French toast and porridge.

It really is an awesome way to start the day.

Since I’m having breakfast later, it’s probably better described as brunch, it shifts my lunchtimes so I’ve adapted that to be a bigger meal than a dinner which is apparently better for your body anyway. I’m not fussed, it’s just convenient since all my cooking bits and pieces are air dried well before I go to bed and I can put them away and wake up to nothing in my kitchen.

More bliss.

It also gives me time to experiment with Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals that don’t really take me 15 minutes. I do slice slowly… I’m improving.

I’ve been thinking about baking too though having a cake for myself is a little too decadent! This is best saved for an occasion where I can Immediately share it.

Exporing my neighborhood and other parts of HK with my thermos of coffee, sometimes my lunch, and a book has also been interesting. The weather has been a bit cooler so I don’t break a sweat just by walking out the door. I’ve been people watching and am surprised how much time people spend on their phones when there is quite a lot to see around them. This is when I put my book down too otherwise I’m doing the same thing with a different tool.

There are a lot of no cost and low cost things to do here and it is helped by transport being quite cheap as well as a lot of places are easy for me to get to by walking. Not just the hiking trails!

I’m also a big believer in making sure I have at least one conversation with someone face-to-face each day. Otherwise it is too easy for me to stay at home with my books, notepads and pens. While highly enjoyable this is not great for the body and not so great for the mind either. It’s important to interact with the world and not just be a specatator from behind closed doors and behind a computer screen. Good for the world view and good for well-being.

Sometimes I struggle with this one and have to make an effort. I think I am an introverted extravert!

I’ve found that one of my credit card’s points can be swapped for food vouchers at one of the supermarket chains. This is a great way of spending and saving simultaneously since it’s for money I’ve already spent and I’m using it for something that I actually need. My other credit card gives me Asia Miles which is great for flights with the One World group but lousy to get me to Mauritius.

When I feel like a treat, many of my local restaurants offer lunch sets which are quite big . It generally means I don’t need to eat much for dinner. I take leftovers home. I always make sure the food I eat at a restaurant is something I wouldn’t cook for myself since that also seems to be a bit of a waste.

There may or may not be an adult beverage involved.

One of the not terribly exciting things I’ve been doing, though it has been necessary, is going through my various insurances to make sure I’m insured to the correct level and not paying too much. Tedious exercise though worthwhile and would be something I would typically put off for as long as possible. Rewarding once completed.

While I would like to have a consistent source of income at the moment to supplement some of my other activities, namely travel, I’m going to make the most of my time out of an office and do those things that lack of time makes a challenge.

It is the perfect opportunity to:

• help out a few friends with their various business ventures in whatever way I can.
• be a bit healthier, exercise a little more and eat / drink a little less.
• put a dent in my To Be Read Pile at a faster rate. I will be going to the library too which could add to this challenge!
• explore more of HK (and the world to a lesser extent as long as I keep the costs low).
• write.
• upskill.

* Thanks to Deep Blue Something for the title to this post. This song was number 1, twenty years ago this year!